Geisinger College of Health Sciences

Students in Geisinger School of Medicine's Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG) earned national attention for their leadership, service and commitment to primary care. The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has selected the college's FMIG as a recipient of its 2026 Program of Excellence Award, which recognizes student-led initiatives that promote the values and impact of family medicine.

Geisinger School of Medicine students Lakshmi Ilango and Emily Rubio, both Class of 2026 and recipients of the Jennifer A. Sidari Global Health Award, returned from a monthlong rotation in Bogota, Colombia, with stories of connection and personal growth. Hosted by Fundacion Universitaria Juan N. Corpas, their experience blended clinical service, cultural immersion and personal discovery. Both students spent most of their rotation working in Centro Comunitaria Juan Corpas, a community clinic in a lowerincome neighborhood of Bogota.

Geisinger College of Health Sciences conferred 28 Master of Biomedical Sciences (MBS) degrees upon students in School of Graduate Education's MBS Class of 2026. Commencement ceremonies were held Saturday, July 11.

Geisinger College of Health Sciences' School of Medicine held its 13th commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 10. 115 members of the class of 2025 received a diploma.

Oam Patel, a first-year medical student at Geisinger College's School of Medicine, was awarded Best in Show: Gold out of more than 500 posters at the American Medical Association Research Conference in Chicago for his poster presentation, "Plaque Radiotherapy for Posterior Uveal Melanoma in 4000 Eyes: Analysis of >/= 15 letter visual acuity loss in the pre-anti-VEGF era." The award recognizes both the scientific merit of the work and its potential impact on future efforts to improve quality of life for patients undergoing treatment for ocular cancer.

Sydney Dana, a member of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's MD Class of 2025, published a paper, "Pronounced State-Level Disparities in Medicaid Prescribing of Buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder (2019-2020)" in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

Two members of Geisinger School of Medicine's (GSOM) MD Class of 2027 received an award given to just 10 medical students nationwide. The American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) awarded Kulsoom Mohammad and Nathan Witteveen the ASCP Medical Student Award. The honor is given to 10 medical students who have "achieved academic excellence, demonstrated leadership ability, and shown a strong interest in the pathology profession."

Geisinger College of Health Sciences' School of Medicine student Madison Brooks has received multiple awards and recognitions for scholarship and academic excellence. As she enters the final year of medical school, Brooks has racked up an eye-popping number of national awards: ASCP Medical Student Award Awarded to only 10 students nationwide each year, this honor recognizes academic excellence, leadership, and a strong interest in pathology. CAP 2025 Distinguished Medical Student Award One recipient per medical school annually, this award celebrates outstanding achievement and initiative in pathology. Society of '67 Kinney Scholar - Association for Academic Pathology (AAPath) One of only 8 students selected from 85 applicants, this highly competitive scholarship enabled Brooks to attend the AAPath conference in Denver, where she engaged with leaders in academic pathology. USCAP Genomics Workshop Travel Award This scholarship supported Brooks's attendance at the USCAP conference in Boston, where she networked with experts and Geisinger pathologists. CAP Medical Student Travel Award Brooks will attend the upcoming CAP conference in Orlando, where she will be paired with a practicing pathologist for mentorship. This award recognizes her strong commitment to pathology as a career. Brooks's experience at Geisinger has been transformative, thanks in large part to her mentor, Geisinger pathologist, Renee Frank, MD. "She's been helping me since day one," Madison says. "Any opportunity she had-research, awards, scholarships-she would reach out. She's one of the most incredible women I've ever met." Brooks is now preparing to apply for residency programs, with a strong interest in Geisinger's Danville program. And her vision for the future is clear: "I want to be somewhere like Geisinger, where people love their jobs and want to teach. That's how you build great doctors."

Second-year Geisinger College of Health Sciences medical student Jessica Huang has been appointed a regional delegate for the Northeast to the Association of American Medical Colleges' (AAMC) Organization of Student Representatives (OSR).

Nick Tomassoni, a second-year medical student at Geisinger College of Health Sciences School of Medicine, recently presented at the 2025 Academy for Professionalism in Health Careconference with a session titled "Gaining, Building, and Keeping Trust Throughout Medical Education and Practice." The presentation explored the complexities of trust in healthcare, emphasizing the relationships between medical learners, physicians and institutions.

Touch and hearing are the last senses to go when we die. It's why hospice professionals have an iron-clad rule: Assume everything you say can be heard and understood, even by a seemingly non-responsive patient - and assume these patients know when they're alone. This simple truth inspired a group of Geisinger College's School of Medicine class of 2025 to found No One Dies Alone, a volunteer group that "vigil sits" with hospice patients. And due to their compassion and dedication Allied Service Hospice recently recognized them with its Star Volunteer Award.

Guha Jay Ganesh, GCSOM MD Class of 2024, received one of just four scholarships awarded to medical students by the Physician's Foundation, a nonprofit that, through research, education and grantmaking works to improve physician wellbeing, strengthen physician leadership, address drivers of health and lift physician perspectives.

Abigail Geisinger Scholars from Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's (GCSOM) class of 2026 were welcomed into the family by their mentors and system leaders at a special reception and ceremony. Students accepted to the Abigail Geisinger Scholars Program pay no tuition and receive a monthly stipend in exchange for a commitment to work as a Geisinger primary care physician or psychiatrist upon residency completion.

Thanks to a curricular emphasis on community immersion, a group of first-year medical students at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine worked with Marley's Mission, a nonprofit that provides equine-assisted psychotherapy to traumatized children, to develop health resources to help the children along their therapeutic journeys. Impressed with the results, Marley's Mission leadership asked the students to join them as their guests at the agency's annual Blue Ribbon Gala. At the event, held Feb. 18, the students' work was prominently displayed throughout the venue, and they were recognized for their work.

When the holidays come to the hospital, healing includes making spirits bright. That's why Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine student Miranda Chen played violin for the inpatients at Geisinger Lewistown Hospital (GLH) on Christmas Eve and Christmas day this year.

Kara Romanowski, a member of the MD Class of 2023, entered a submission, entitled "Dignity in the Details," a moving reflection on the need to remember the humanity of patients. Her first-place award will be presented during the 2022 FMEC Annual Meeting, September 16-18 in Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia.

A Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine student delivered an oral presentation and won an award at Geisinger's 27th annual Scholarship Days, an event that highlights the depth and breadth of clinician, fellow and resident research.

Five Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine MD graduates received military commissions prior to their Commencement ceremony,